Just a little over 29 years ago, two college kids met at a Wesley Foundation and worked together in leading youth at a local church. With stars in their eyes and a clear calling to expand this relationship to marriage, these two love birds made the decision to marry before their one-year dating anniversary. They knew God was at work and had big plans for them, yet they could only see the required educational requirements to still be accomplished. They saw their life filled with moves from church to church as they were appointed to pastor local churches…but God had other plans.
When Nancy and I married, our vision for our life was limited to what we believed we knew for certainty. God’s call to ministry was on my life and we knew within two years of getting married a move would take us four hours from Nancy’s mom and five and one-half hours from my parents. Our time in seminary was good, and God called us back from Kentucky a semester earlier than we expected, so I drove back to Kentucky each week (about six hour drive) for fourteen weeks as I completed my degree. I would leave on Monday and return on Thursday—the beginning of my traveling from home.
Also, in the two and one-half years we were in Kentucky, I worked for Youth for Christ, where I learned the ropes of fundraising and working as a missionary. I knew the intricacies of local church ministry, but God was teaching me a new area of ministry—because God had some other plans for my life than I realized.
God sent us to a local church where there was a vibrant youth mission ministry, so I was quickly being trained how to lead mission trips. I was immersed in youth mission ministry and though I could not travel my first year at the church, I was included in the team’s training and God was training me for something I again could not see.
At this same church, I was given the opportunity to put into practice my entrepreneurial spirit as I started a new Sunday night worship experience. I learned the experience of success and failure as new ideas sometimes went well, while at other times they failed. Yet, I persisted to fulfill the calling God had placed on my heart to provide this Sunday evening service for youth, young adults, and those who could not come to Sunday morning because of work responsibilities. God was training me to start new things and learn how to succeed and fail well.
As we felt the urging of the Holy Spirit to leave local church ministry to go full-time in mission and evangelism, God showed us His ability to provide for our every need. Our family moved from a parsonage to the finished basement of my mother-in-law’s house for a season, while we established ourselves in the Albion community.
Throughout the past 29+ years, Nancy and I have witnessed God’s work in our lives as we seek to daily be faithful to God’s call on our lives to proclaim Jesus is Lord and minister to the whole person. My heart overflows with the gift God gave to me when Nancy and I met and started dating. We did not know God would call me to a ministry where I would be away from home nearly one-third of the year. Yet, God has blessed me with a wife who supports me and loves me in my times of preparation, my times of return, and the times when I am away from the family. I am truly blessed.
I am thankful for each person who has played a role in the Living the Adventure Ministries story. From the people present with me when I heard God’s call to ministry to those who serve on the Board of Directors. I am also thankful for those who regularly pray for this ministry and provide the financial support we need to follow where God leads us. I am truly blessed.
Paul writes in Ephesians 3:20, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” I am living into this reality each day. God continues to do more than what I could ever ask or imagine and I give God thanks for each person who lives the adventure with me each day.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for each person who has played a role in your call on my life. Thank you for each experience that was a training ground for where you were leading me. Thank you for my wife and family who support me and for each person who prays for me each day. I am truly blessed. In Jesus’ name. Amen.